The present invention relates to novel personal product or detergent compositions comprising glycolipids, and in particular to compositions comprising nonionic aldobionamides as surface active agents in the compositions. An aldobionamide is defined as the amide of an aldobionic acid (or aldobionolactone) and an aldobionic acid in turn is defined as a sugar substance (e.g., any cyclic sugar) in which the aldehyde group (generally found at the C.sub.1 position on the sugar) has been replaced by a carboxylic acid. Aldobionamides may be based on compounds comprising two saccharide units, (e.g., lactobionamide or maltobionamide) or they may be based on compounds compromising more than two saccharide units as long as the polysaccharide has a terminal sugar unit with an aldehyde group available. There must, however, be at least two saccharide units because these materials pack less closely in the solid state making them more water soluble than a linear saccharide (e.g., a gluconamide or glucoheptonamide) thereby allowing a stable composition to form.
Most surfactants presently used in personal product and in detergent compositions are based on petrochemicals. Because of increased concern over environmental issues raised by use of petrochemicals and also because of the continually rising costs of these petrochemicals, it would be useful to develop surfactants which are instead derived from carbohydrates. These natural occurring compounds represent a source of renewable raw materials that are synthetically versatile, inexpensive, optically pure and environmentally friendly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,334 to Walden teaches compounds which are the reaction products of aldonic acids (e.g., lactobionic acid) and fatty amines. The compound is said to be useful as an emulsifier in food composition.
In Williams et al., Archives of Biochem. and Biophysics, 195(1):145-151 (1979), there is described glycolipids prepared by linking aldobionic acids to alkylamine through an amide bond. Although it is said that these compounds, like all surfactants, form micelies, there is no teaching or suggestion of the use of these compounds in detergent or personal product compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,814 teaches N-polyhydroxyalkyl fatty acid amides used as thickeners in aqueous surfactant systems having the formula ##STR1##
wherein R.sub.1 is alkyl, R.sub.2 is hydrogen, alkyl or alkyl hydroxide and X is a polyhydroxy group.
This is a completely different class of compounds than those of the invention. In these compounds the polyhydroxy group is separated by a methylene group attached to the Nitrogen atom rather than the carbonyl group resulting in an amide linkage that is reversed compared to the compounds of the invention. These compounds re prepared by the reaction of a monosaccharide suger amine with an alkyl ester of a fatty acid. The compounds of this invention are prepared by the reaction of disaccharide (or greater) sugar lactones with a fatty amine. Again, ours is completely different.
In addition, there is a series of Procter and Gamble applications teaching a number of compositions which comprise polyhydroxy amide. WO-92/06172, for example, teaches built liquid detergent compositions containing polyhydroxy acid amide. There are about 20 applications reciting various compositions containing the same polyhydroxy amide.
The polyhydroxy amide of each of these references is, like the compound of U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,814, a completely different compound from that of the invention. Again, the hydroxy group in each case is separated by a methylene group attached to the Nitrogen atom rather than the carbonyl group.
French Patent No. 82/05005 (Publication No. 2,523,962) teaches linear amides having the formula: EQU HOCH.sub.2 (CHOH).sub.m CONHR
in which m is 2 to 6 and R is a linear or branched alkyl group having 6 to 18 carbons. These surfactants are said to be low foaming and must be ethoxylated or propoxylated by typical means for sufficient solubility.
The reference fails to teach the aldobionamide of the invention. Aldobionamides do not pack as closely in the solid state as aldonamides and are therefore more soluble (lower Krafft point) and higher foaming. To the extent that the reference teaches low foaming (suggesting low solubility and high Krafft point), the reference not only fails to teach or suggest the aldobionamides of the subject invention, but actually teaches away.
Accordingly, it would be greatly desirable to find carbohydrates, in particular aldobionamides, which can be successfully used as surfactants in personal product and detergent compositions.